Eartheater was both a pick for Hispanic / Latinx Heritage Month and a Net Galley ARC that I had been highly anticipating, so this is a real boon for me!
Original Title:
Cometierra
Disclosure:
I received a review copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for review consideration. They give me no money, nor do they in any way influence my thoughts – those are 100% my own for better or worse.
Edition:
E-ARC
Synopsis:
NAMED A “FALL 2020 MUST-READ” AND ONE OF THE “BEST BOOKS OF FALL 2020” BY TIME, VULTURE, THE BOSTON GLOBE, WIRED, BUSTLE, AND PARADE
Electrifying and provocative, visceral and profound, a powerful literary debut novel about a young woman whose compulsion to eat earth gives her visions of murdered and missing people—an imaginative synthesis of mystery and magical realism that explores the dark tragedies of ordinary lives.
Set in an unnamed slum in contemporary Argentina, Earth-eater is the story of a young woman who finds herself drawn to eating the earth—a compulsion that gives her visions of broken and lost lives. With her first taste of dirt, she learns the horrifying truth of her mother’s death. Disturbed by what she witnesses, the woman keeps her visions to herself. But when Earth-eater begins an unlikely relationship with a withdrawn police officer, word of her ability begins to spread, and soon desperate members of her community beg for her help, anxious to uncover the truth about their own loved ones.
Surreal and haunting, spare yet complex, Earth-eater is a dark, emotionally resonant tale told from a feminist perspective that brilliantly explores the stories of those left behind—the women enduring the pain of uncertainty, whose lives have been shaped by violence and loss.
My Thoughts:
This is another debut that seems impossible to me. How the hell are people just coming right out of the gate writing like this?! And I’m over here pulling my own hair out just trying to write a coherent review of their work!
Eartheater is stunning. The story revolves around a young woman who has lost everything. She is barely scraping by in a home with her older brother. She is ostracized and feared, but also used by the people around her. She has a very unique gift. People in her community leave jars of earth outside her home accompanied by the names of their lost loved ones. They do this in hope that she will use her gift to help find them. And she lives in a place where lots of people go missing. All the time.
Although it is unpleasant for her, she feels compelled to eat earth at times. She certainly cannot fathom eating all of the earth that is left for her, but sometimes they call to her. She’s a young lady made tough by a tough life, but she is anything but uncaring.
“I felt sad. I didn’t know if for her or for what had been done to María, or my mamá, for Florensia, for Walter’s girlfriend, or for me. I felt sad for all of them at once. Enormously sad.”
Ezequiel is a police officer who asked for her help. Her budding relationship with him gives her a sense of stability that she has never known before. But can she make it last?
What makes this story so extraordinary is how it weaves elements of magical realism into a very mundane, spare existence. There is nothing glamorous about living in a slum, with nobody but your brother to care about you. Especially when everyone else just wants a piece of you. The magic deftly weaves throughout the uglier parts of her life.
About the Author:
Dolores Reyes was born in 1978 in Buenos Aires, where she studied classical literature. She is a teacher, known for her feminist activism, and the mother of seven children.
Mangiaterra is her first novel, which immediately became an editorial and political case in Argentina, then also rebounded in Spain. It is dedicated to the memory of Melina Romero and Araceli Ramos, adolescent victims of femicide, whose remains rest in a cemetery near the school of Pablo Podestá, metropolitan area of Buenos Aires, where the author works.
About the Translator:
Julia Sanches is a literary translator working from Portuguese, Spanish, French, and Catalan into English. Born in São Paulo, Brazil, she has spent extended periods of time in the United States, Mexico, Switzerland, Scotland, and Catalonia, giving her an intimate knowledge of the languages, cultures, and literatures she works in. She is a founding member of Cedilla & Co., a collective of translators committed to making international voices heard in English, and soon-to-be chair of the Translators Group of the Authors Guild.
Julia holds a BA in English Literature and Philosophy from the University of Edinburgh and an MA in Comparative Literature and Literary Translation from the Universitat Pompeu Fabra, in Barcelona. After working as an assistant and agent for several years at The Wylie Agency, representing authors from around the world, she has decided to focus her energies on translation and advocating for the authors she is passionate about.
Rating:
I highly recommend this book!
Eartheater By Dolores Reyes Translated by Julia Sanches HarperVia ISBN: 0062987739 Expected Publication: November 17, 2020 First Published: May 2019 Hardcover, E-book, Audiobook 224 Pages
That cover RULES
I knowww. I knew I had to read it the second I saw it. I think I hit request before I even read the synopsis.. 🤣